Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

The government securitization guarantor could move forward with more big-picture initiatives as well this year now that it officially has a confirmed president. View the full article

US consumer sentiment increased to a five-month high in January as Americans grew more optimistic about the economy and their finances. View the full article

The class action suit doubles down on accusations that the homebuilder and its lending arm are deceiving borrowers about their monthly mortgage payments. View the full article

The all-stock acquisition of Mountain Commerce Bancorp in Knoxville marks the Arkansas-based company's first M&A foray since 2022. View the full article

The investor markets already set mortgage rates to include the 25 basis point reduction the FOMC announced, and it is too early to see the longer-term effect. View the full article

Overall satisfaction is highest when customers receive status updates from mobile apps, according to the J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study. View the full article

A modest improvement in prices and mortgage rates encouraged buyers. Signings have now increased for four straight months, matching a pandemic streak. View the full article

New Jersey-based OceanFirst Financial slid in its planned $579 million acquisition of Flushing Financial just before the end of the year. The private equity firm Warburg Pincus is also participating in the transaction. View the full article

The rally sparked by the weekend US arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro also faltered as oil prices rebounded from their initial declines View the full article

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said economic uncertainty should ease in the coming year as businesses gain confidence in sustained demand and adapt to the new policy environment. View the full article

While the US military operation in Venezuela didn't hit sentiment on American financial markets, the action reminded investors how tenuous any trading thesis can be in a world undergoing geopolitical changes. View the full article

The deal still faces a lawsuit from activist investor HoldCo Asset Management, which contends that Comerica didn't properly shop itself before agreeing to sell to Fifth Third. View the full article

A housing official renewed his call for credit bureaus to address lenders' concerns. Low pull-through magnifies a cost that's small relative to others. View the full article

Although some of the cohort surveyed were flush with savings, others admitted having precarious debt situations and steadfast attitudes toward luxury purchases. View the full article

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Citigroup will streamline borrower requests for an additional 90-day forbearance, allowing verbal applications. View the full article

Largely strong credit qualities were offset because by loans on single-family homes in the pool dropping by 0.5%, and that the percentage of loans that received due diligence decreased by 0.4%. View the full article

Loanlogics rolled out the LoanBeam NQM income analyzer in October and has four users for the non-qualified mortgage underwriting technology, including Pennymac. View the full article

Originators with less than $59 million in assets don't have to share their loan data with CFPB, as the semi-shuttered regulator continues mortgage oversight. View the full article

Across-the-board decreases across all loan types drove the Mortgage Bankers Association's full credit availability index to its lowest in three months. View the full article

Housing starts in the US fell in October to the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic as data delayed by last fall's government shutdown showed builders continued to cut back amid still-high prices and mortgage rates. View the full article

Lenders shouldn't expect the latest jobs numbers to yield major monetary policy moves after the unemployment rate came in mostly flat last month, experts say. View the full article

But a senior administration official said the DOJ, not Pulte, is behind the subpoena that relates to Powell's congressional testimony about Fed building renovations. View the full article

Nearly half of all credit card users carry a balance, according to Academy Bank. Higher non-mortgage debt levels can affect home loan underwriting. View the full article